


Alien Behavior

by 2shytheshippy



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-21 08:31:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4822289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2shytheshippy/pseuds/2shytheshippy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the end of a long term relationship with Brandon, Catelyn goes to Ned's apartment one late night to find closure, which opens new doors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tiredly, Ned took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. 

Even when he was off the clock, his work was never done. 

There were several files open in front of him with papers placed all over the table. At the last minute, Brandon asked Ned to look over a deal that he’d been working on. Initially, Ned planned to look at it over the weekend because Brandon told him to take his time, but it turned out that his brother needed to present the file tomorrow due to the meeting being pushed up. 

After Brandon’s first disastrous deal, it’d been agreed upon that no deal would be presented without Ned overlooking and correcting it. Although Brandon was the face of the business as well as internal leader, he was lost when it came to the finer points of drawing up agreements and the practicality when implementing the terms. That wasn’t to say that Brandon didn’t have good ideas, but rather, they needed to be looked over and edited to maximize the benefits they’d receive. His brother wasn’t incompetent, but Ned was the man behind the man. Deals weren’t made if he didn’t approve of them. Despite his behind the scenes power, Ned knew his place: he was second in command. He didn’t think he’d excel in such a public, high profiled position like Brandon did. His brother knew all of the right words and how to charm the media and business partners. 

Ned secured his glasses on his face before diving back into the work. He shuffled through the papers and looked for the highlighted phrases and sections he did earlier in order to make the finishing touches on the final draft. 

After he finished editing, Ned got himself a beer. Just as he was about to sit down, someone lightly knocked on his door. Curiously, Ned looked at the door, and then his wrist to check the time. It was a quarter to twelve. It was too early for Robert to come crash on his couch—he usually arrived around three, four in the morning and his presence was quite known way before he even knocked. 

Before he went to the door, Ned sat his beer on the counter. He looked through the peephole and burrowed his brows in concern, and then opened the door. 

“Catelyn?” Ned opened his door all of the way as he looked his brother’s ex fiancée up and down.

As Ned took in the sight of her, his heart broke. Catelyn’s eyes were bloodshot red as she clutched the skirt of her wedding gown that she wore. Shortly after Brandon proposed to her, Catelyn had found the dress by accident. She went to a few wedding boutiques just to get an idea of the dress she’d like to wear. It was love at first sight for her. Although she and Ned didn’t talk much, she called him to come talk her out of buying the dress. It was too early and you didn’t buy the first dress you fell in love with.

But, when Ned saw her in the dress he was breathless. He told Catelyn that she’d make a beautiful bride and that every man at the wedding would be envious. 

Catelyn bought the dress.

That was three years ago. 

Brandon originally pushed their wedding date back because he didn’t want to distract Catelyn during her final year of college. He explained that he wanted her full focus on her studies and after she graduated they could set a date. Then it was work was so hectic and he needed to settle in before setting a date. Eventually, it was ‘there’s no rush to get married; the only thing that matter is that we have each other.”

Finally it became, “I’m not ready to get married and I don’t think I’ll ever be.”

That was a few months ago.

Catelyn nervously bit on her lip as she anxiously stared at Ned.

“Can I come in,” her voice cracked.

“Oh, I’m sorry; come in,” Ned said, as he gestured inside of his apartment. Once she was in, Ned closed the door and went to get Catelyn a glass of water. He handed her the glass, and then directed her towards the living room. Ned put space between them as he sat down on the couch. He didn’t want Catelyn to feel crowded or overwhelmed.

“What’s wrong, Cat” Ned inquired. “What happened?”

Catelyn seemed to drink her water in one huge gulp, and then wiped her mouth.

“I didn’t realize I was that thirsty…it was probably from all of the crying,” she explained as she gestured to her face for emphasis. 

Ned took the cup from her. “Would you like another glass?”

“No,” she replied. “I’m fine.”

“Cat,” Ned began.

“Brandon cheated on me the whole time we were together, didn’t he?” Catelyn blurted out. Quickly, she held up her hands. “No, don’t tell me—I don’t know if I want to know.” A low sigh slipped through her lips as tears formed in her eyes. Nervously, she wrung her hands. “No—no, I want to know… I was about to marry this man. I had planned to spend my life with him and I know it shouldn’t matter now because we are no longer engaged, but…I need closure.” She chuckled, and then wiped a shed tear. “Usually, you get that from the boyfriend and not his brother, but I don’t think I can talk to him let alone look at him. Besides, you’d actually be honest with me.”

At this, Ned frowned. He didn’t think that his secrecy regarding Brandon’s infidelity reflected an honest person. Directly and indirectly, he contributed to Catelyn’s current unhappiness and didn’t sit right with Ned. Catelyn was a good person and didn’t deserve what happened to her. That wasn’t to say that someone did deserve it, but on top of all of the jerking around Brandon did with her, he cheated on her as well. Without a doubt, Ned had several talks with Brandon about his behavior for a man in a relationship. At the same time, he felt a sense of loyalty to his brother due to the fact that he loved his older sibling and he knew that, despite the bad behavior, Brandon was caught between a rock and a hard place. 

At that point in his life, Brandon was living his life according to what other people wanted and not who he really was. Yes, he cared for Catelyn deeply and a small part of him had been in love with her, but he wasn’t a monogamous person—it wasn’t in his blood. He loved the ladies and the ladies loved him. But, their dad pressured Brandon to stop fooling around and find a nice, good girl who he could eventually settle down with. 

Although Rickard didn’t put much pressure on Brandon his first few years in college, it was after he met Catelyn that the pressure became tenfold. She was his dream daughter in law: smart, genuine and nice, well-mannered, charming, and beautiful. Of course, Hoster Tully was all for the two getting together: his daughter could’ve possibly married into a good family with a great reputation and there was also professional benefits to the pairings, but ultimately, he cared about his daughter’s well being. The Starks were a good family.

So, when Hoster and Rickard bumped into one another at a tailgating party, Catelyn’s freshman year and Brandon’s senior year, they were immediately paired together. They didn’t date right away, but Brandon was interested in her for two reasons: not only was Catelyn incredibly beautiful, there was something about her that drew him in, but he also wanted to make his father happy. But with Catelyn, Brandon was Brandon; no woman could resist his good looks and charm. By Thanksgiving, Rickard wouldn’t let up on how Brandon should’ve been dating Catelyn. He’d thought that the eldest Tully would be a good influence on his son as well as the fact that she’d balance him out when Brandon took over Stark Enterprises. For a man to run such a big company, he needed a family.

Once the New Year arrived, Brandon and Catelyn a sealed a kiss, which cemented their new relationship together.

The first few months, Brandon had been faithful and it seemed as if their father was right: he was calmer and his grades improved. But, Ned wasn’t fooled for long. He could see the restlessness under Brandon’s façade. Eventually, Brandon started becoming “too” charming and flirty. The bed hopping followed soon after that. No matter how much Ned spoke to his brother, Brandon wouldn’t stop his ways—not for long at least. It became even more appalling when they got engaged. Ned didn’t understand how Brandon could propose to Catelyn and still live the life he did. He didn’t see how his brother could yank Catelyn around the way he did. But, once Brandon became honest with himself and refused to continue to live a life of lies, he ended his engagement. 

“You think too highly of me,” Ned said as he looked at the cup in his hand before he placed it on the table. 

Catelyn ran her hand through her hair. “No, I don’t think you think high enough of yourself,” she refuted. “Ned…I understand why you had to keep it a secret from me: you’re Brandon’s brother and you’re loyal to him because you love him. But, I don’t hold it against you—that’s a difficult position. Please, Ned, I need to know. Did Brandon cheat on me all while we were together.” Catelyn sat on the couch and grabbed Ned’s hands.

All Ned could think after Catelyn grabbed his hands was how soft and warm they were. He didn’t understand how Brandon could cheat on her. Catelyn was such a warm and loving person and beautiful too. With her long, red hair and mesmerizing blue eyes, Ned couldn’t help but to be taken in by her. And feel guilty as well. What kind of brother was attracted to his brother’s ex fiancé even if said brother cheated on her? 

Even though they didn’t talk much, Ned loved conversing with Catelyn. Her voice was melodic and soothing and she spoke with such passion. But, Ned promised himself he wouldn’t fall in love with her. It was already wrong enough as it was that he had feelings for her, but to be in love with her??? And it’s not like Catelyn felt the same way or he’d even had a chance with her if things were different. 

Slowly, Ned exhaled. “Yes,” he admitted. “The first few months he was faithful, but he couldn’t stick to it; it just wasn’t in him to be monogamous. I kept trying to convince him to do the right thing, which was be faithful, because I knew he wouldn’t break up with you then.”

Catelyn bawled into her hands.

Uncomfortably, Ned rubbed her back to comfort her. This was new to Ned. He wasn’t one to comfort people, but he did break some tough news to his brother’s ex: a woman he had feelings for. Catelyn cried harder at Ned’s touch. She didn’t want his sympathy, as nice as it was; she wanted her time with Brandon not to have been a lie. 

Ned crouched in front of Catelyn as he took her hands in his own.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, as he pried her hands from her face. Tenderly, he wiped her tears away as Catelyn shut her eyes to prevent any more tears from coming. 

“For what,” she asked. “It’s not like you were the one who cheated on me.”

“Yeah, but I knew,” he said. “I should’ve done more.”

With her eyes still closed, Catelyn shook her head at this. “No, you did all you could, which I thank you for considering your situation.”

“Even then, it doesn’t feel like enough,” he argued as Catelyn brought his hands up to cover her face

“Well, it’s enough for me; stop beating yourself up about it.” Catelyn then looked at him. “Sooner or later, we all are put into a difficult position where there isn’t a right answer—we do what we can and hope for the best. And I have a feeling that the best is yet to come.”

“I do too.” Ned picked up a suede pillow and wiped off the rest of her tears with it. Catelyn chuckled. She grabbed the pillow out of Ned’s hands and hugged it tightly.

“Can I stay here for the night,” she asked out of the blue.

Taken off guard, Ned was speechless for a moment. “Umm—umm, yeah,” he answered. He slowly got up and looked around his apartment. “I’ll see if I can find something for you.”

Before Ned began his search for nighttime wear for Catelyn, he got her another glass of water. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

Ned nodded, and then went to his bedroom and searched for some size appropriate clothes. After a while of searching, he realized that he still had some of Ashara’s clothes in a box in his closet. She never got around to picking it up and he never got around to dropping them off. He grabbed a loose fitting shirt and some running capris. Ned didn’t know what to do about underwear. 

As Catelyn showered, Ned made some tea for her to drink. He figured it would calm her nerves and relax her, which is what she needed right now. Ned then cooked some food because he thought it would be good if she ate something as well. All of that crying must of made her hungry, assuming that she ate anything at all that night.

After he fixed their plates, Ned pulled out his laptop and printed out the final draft of the deal he worked on earlier. He wanted to be prepared for tomorrow and put off doing it earlier because he needed to decompress. Sure, printing the documents were nothing, but he only cared if it got finished.

“You bring your work home?” Catelyn lightly rested her hand on his arm and Ned’s stomach fluttered. “When Brandon and I were together he never did that.”

Ned shut his laptop and looked at Catelyn. “That’s because Brandon and I have different responsibilities.”

“Like what,” she questioned. “He never spoke about work with me. When he did it was vague or complaining about how stressful it was.”

“As you know, Brandon has a way with words and is a very charismatic person, in addition to being the face of Stark Enterprises, he goes to meetings with other companies, and proposes/negotiates deals,” Ned explained. While he spoke to Catelyn, he brought their plates over to the table and poured her a cup of tea. For himself, he drank his beer from earlier. “He does do paperwork, but most of which can be finished at the office or left there until the next day.”

“Thank you, Ned,” Catelyn said graciously, and then took a bite of her food. “This is delicious.”

“It’s nothing,” he brushed off as he dug into his own food.

“So, what do you do,” she inquired. “Brandon’s the face and you’re…”

A small chuckled escaped from Ned’s lips. “I’m the behind the scenes guy; I make sure everything is functioning.” Ned took a quick swig of his beer. “I deal in the day to day: manage employees, comb through contracts, and manage the finances. Brandon’s the CEO and I’m a hybrid position of CFO/COO.”

“Sounds challenging,” Catelyn quipped as she sipped her tea.

“It has its challenges,” Ned agreed. “But, I enjoy cthem.”

For a moment, they ate in silence. Catelyn was content eating her meal and Ned was content being in her presence and knowing that he provided her with some closure. When he finished his beer, he got up and got himself another one. As he sipped the new bottle, he sat down.

“I never suspected that Brandon cheated on me until today,” Catelyn began. Concerned colored Ned’s face when she brought up the subject again. The look in her eyes showed the Catelyn was looking for the words to articulate her confusion and devastation. When Ned brought his bottle up to his lips again, Catelyn grabbed the bottle and took a gulp. “I…I went to visit a friend today and saw Brandon exit Barbrey’s apartment building. And, I don’t know, I just had this feeling in my gut that, whatever they had going on has been going on since before we broke up. That maybe it has happened with other women as well.” She then turned to Ned for confirmation.

Ned took his beer back from Catelyn and finished it.

“You’re correct,” Ned confirmed. “About Barbrey and the other women.”

“But, he’s been with her the most,” she prodded. “And longest.”

He nodded in agreement. “Brandon isn’t in love with her,” he clarified. “It’s just…he has a long, complicated history with Barbrey. Well, complicated on her part. It’s pretty simple for him.”

Intently, Catelyn stared at Ned for him to tell her more. 

“Brandon was her first and it didn’t matter how many girls he fooled around and dated, he would always come back to her. Well, that’s misleading, he’d always sleep with her. Brandon has never expressed any interest in a relationship with Barbrey, but that doesn’t keep her from hoping or making up scenarios in her head. She refuses to understand that Brandon has no other interest in her besides sex,” Ned explained. “In her mind, you stole him from her and every time he slept with her, she’d won.”

“So, why does he go back to her,” Catelyn asked. “If he can have his pick of girls, what about Barbrey draws him to her?”

“She’s a sure thing,” Ned said in a matter of fact tone. “He doesn’t have to work that hard or, at all, for that matter. She’s one of those people who’d sacrifice dignity and pride just to get what they feel they deserve even though it’s really a pyrrhic victory.” At Catelyn’s questioning glance, Ned elaborated, “She doesn’t care who she hurts or about her reputation as long as she can satisfy Brandon in whatever way she can. Barbrey does whatever Brandon wants sexually—there is no line for her if it means she gets to be with him. Brandon likes that.”

“Oh,” Catelyn said in shock. “And Brandon toys with that poor girl’s heart.”

“I don’t think Brandon’s aware, to be honest.” Ned got himself another beer and, this time, he got Catelyn a beer. He waved for her to come join him in the living room. “Brandon just thinks that Barbrey loves having sex and is sexually adventurous. I keep trying to explain to him that it’s more than that for her, but he keeps insisting that she knows it isn’t. I know she only says that so Brandon won’t permanently end things with her.” 

“I can’t decide if that’s sad or pathetic.” Catelyn settled comfortably onto the couch, and then rested her feet on the table.

“It’s tragic,” Ned corrected. “Eventually, Barbrey’s willingness to do anything isn’t going to be enough. What is she going to do with herself then? Despite his infidelities, Brandon loved you. He may have not been in love with you, but I believe that if he could’ve put his love of women aside, he would’ve fell in love with you and he’d given you everything you’d ever dreamed of. Or maybe if you two met when he was ready to settle down rather than being forced, things could’ve been different. But, the same can’t be said for Barbrey and that’s even if she never had sex with him.”

In thought, Catelyn swished around the beer in her bottle. 

“I would’ve been a beautiful bride…and a great wife.” She took a sip, and then swished around her beer again.

“You would’ve,” Ned repeated. “And you will be.”

Catelyn smiled at him as she rested her elbow on the back of the couch and rested her forehead against her fist.

“I was soooo sure that I was going to marry Brandon,” she admitted. “I just knew he was the one and now I’m not sure why I had all of that faith in us. Brandon was just so easy going and I went with the flow. We had good times together, but we didn’t really talk about the things that were important or agree on ideas and philosophies that built solid foundations in marriage. I adored Brandon and I was in love with him too, but I think I wanted him to marry him because I knew how proud my father would’ve been. Gods, he thinks so highly of your family,” Catelyn said as she playfully rolled her eyes. “My Cat is dating a Stark; Stark this, Stark that. I guess I just put the dress on one last time before I decided what I wanted to do with it.”

“You’re thinking about giving it away,” Ned asked, in shock.

“Selling,” Catelyn corrected. “And, yes. There’s no point in keeping it: Brandon and I aren’t getting married anymore and I doubt whoever I marry will want to marry me in a dress that I picked out for another man.”

“He wouldn’t if he saw the dress,” Ned disagreed. “You picked the right dress, it was just for the wrong guy; Brandon didn’t deserve to see you walked down the aisle in it.”

A big smile broke out on Catelyn’s face. “You know, this is the most we’ve ever spoke.”

Ned shrugged.

“That’s crazy, right?” Catelyn seemed to look at Ned in a different light, not romantic just different. “I mean, we’ve had some pretty important conversations before and I trust you more than anyone I know, but this is the longest conversation we’ve ever had. Hell, this is the longest we’ve been in a room alone together.”

“No,” Ned denied.

“Yes.” Catelyn nodded her head up and down. Ned yawned deeply, and then checked his watch.

“It’s time for bed,” he said as he got up. “It’s 3:10 and I have to get up for work in a few hours. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Catelyn took their plates off of the table and washed the few dishes in the sink. Once she was done, she then put them away and made sure that there weren’t any stray dishes left out.

Catelyn then went to the guest room Ned had directed her to earlier and laid under the covers. 

She couldn’t get to sleep.

Today had been an emotionally intense day and Catelyn was feeling both upset and euphoric at the same time and it had everything to do with the Stark brothers. Brandon broke her heart, again, but Ned was helping her mend it. 

On and off for three hours, Catelyn woke up from her slumber. Despite the up and down sleep cycle, she felt energized. Rather than roll around in the bed so she could fall asleep, Catelyn got up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. In her mind, it was the least she could do for last night.

Before she could even start on breakfast, she saw some food already prepared: eggs, bacon, and toast with a cup of coffee on the side. Other items on the table included: strawberry and grape jelly, apricot spread, powdered sugar, butter, and two butter knives. 

“Oh, hey, you’re up,” Ned said in surprise as he walked into the kitchen. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Catelyn provided.

Ned frowned at this.

“I’m not tired; oddly, I’m quite full of energy.” As she spoke, Ned took out another coffee cup and placed it on the table, and then took out creamer, sugar, and flavored coffee syrups. “I was going to get up and cook you breakfast.”

“No, I wouldn’t dare let you do that,” Ned stated before he sipped his coffee. “You’re my guest; although I appreciate you doing the dishes last night, I don’t want you to lift a finger in my apartment.” He gave her a small smile, and then stood in front of the plate. “I was about to wrap your food and put it in the oven, but I see that’s unnecessary since you’re awake.”

Catelyn walked over to the plate and took her toast off of the plate. She buttered it first before spreading strawberry jelly over the bread.

“Thank you,” she said graciously.

“You’re welcome,” Ned replied in a warm tone, and then looked at his watch.

Carefully, Catelyn placed her hand on his forearm.

“Ned, what time did you wake up?” She bit into her toast as she curiously looked at him.

“Six o’clock,” he stated in a distracted voice. Catelyn hand was still on his arm.

“That’s less than three hours of sleep,” she replied.

“And that’s why the gods made coffee,” he quipped. “To give us the energy we lack.”

At this, Catelyn smiled, and then leaned back against the table. “This is true, but I think your severe lack of sleep outweighs whatever caffeine the coffee provides.”

“It’s fine, Cat, I can manage,” he argued. 

“But, I don’t want you to manage,” she countered.

Ned exhaled, and then gave Catelyn a tight-lipped smile. “Your concerns are noted, Cat, but I have a business I need to help run; I need to manage.” He then walked to the living room and picked up his briefcase. Just as he reached the door as he was about to open it, Catelyn slid between him and the door.

“Play hooky with me,” she said.

“What?” Ned stood in shock for a moment.

“Play hooky with me,” she repeated. “Have a day off, Ned. You work all of the time and you’re thinking of work when you’re not at work—you even bring it home. Take the day off and spend it with me having fun and relaxing.”

“As compelling of an argument as that is, Cat, I have a business deal to turn in today; I don’t think Brandon will be too happy that I decided to take today off of all days.” Ned grinned as to say, ‘checkmate.’

“Yeah, and all you have to do is send a courier or have someone pick it up. You don’t have to personally deliver it yourself.” Catelyn crossed her arms and stood up tall. “Is there anything else that can’t wait until tomorrow?”

“Yeah, my employees, they depend on me and I have to look over some records and give the contract one last look—a pair of fresh eyes—“

Catelyn put her hand over his mouth. 

“Shhh,” she mouthed. “Ned, I doubt for one second Stark Enterprises is going to fall apart if you’re not there for one day,” she reasoned. “Your employees will live, the records are fine, and the contract is as good as it’s ever going to be.”

Curiously, Ned looked at her. “Why do you want to play hooky with me?”

“You helped me through a difficult time yesterday and I want to repay the favor.” Catelyn reached for Ned’s briefcase. “Is that a yes?”

Ned sighed as he let go of his briefcase. 

“It’s a yes.”

A wide grin spread across Catelyn’s face as she placed Ned’s briefcase in the front closet. Ned pulled out his cellphone and told the office that he wouldn’t be in and to send someone to pick up the document he’d revised for Brandon. Catelyn ate her food as Ned dropped it off downstairs. When he got back into the apartment, he sat across from Catelyn as she finished her food.

“So, what are we going to do first,” he asked as he unbuttoned his jacket, and then drank the rest of his cold coffee.

“Well, I was serious when I said you haven’t gotten enough sleep,” she began. “So, we can catch a few hours of rest because, despite being energized, I feel like that’s fools gold and I’m going to regret not going back to bed soon. Then, after we wake up, we see where the day takes us.” 

“Sounds like a plan to me.” As Ned stood up, he loosened his tie. “A weak one, but a plan nonetheless.”

Catelyn completed her meal, and then cleared off her dishes before she washed them. Although Ned told her that guest didn’t clean in her house, she couldn’t just leave dirty dishes in the sink. After she finished cleaning, she went back to her room. This time, her body felt tired, but still couldn’t fall asleep. For a few minutes, she tried to force sleep on herself, but it was useless. Catelyn got back up and went to the kitchen. She looked for chamomile tea, which would remedy her insomnia or whatever she was going through. 

Once she found what she needed, Catelyn boiled the water and got a cup out of the cabinet. Next, she searched for some sugar and lemon, which she found immediately. As she dipped her tea bag, Catelyn figured that Ned would want some tea if he were still up, so she poured him a cup. If he wasn’t still awake, she could drink the cup she made for him. 

Carefully, Catelyn walked to his bedroom door as she held the hot cups in her hands.

“Ned,” she called out. “Ned?”

A moment passed, and then the door opened.

“Yes, Catelyn,” Ned said as he leaned against the doorframe. 

“Did I wake you,” she asked. “If so, I didn’t mean to; it’s just that I was having trouble sleeping and made some tea. As I made myself a cup, I wondered if you were having trouble sleeping as well, s—“

Ned took one of the cups out of her hand and said, “Thank you. I know you told me to get some sleep, but I’ve been wide awake after the cup of coffee I had.”

“Oh,” Catelyn replied, and then blew on her coffee before she sipped it. “So, you’ve just been lying in your bed?”

A smile graced Ned’s face as he then looked at his TV.

Catelyn chuckled, and then shook her head.

“What are you watching?” 

“Discovery channel,” he supplied.

“Anything exciting.” Catelyn took another sip and Ned followed her lead.

“Nature’s always exciting,” he quipped, and then opened the door to invite her in.

The TV was silent and the subtitles were on. Ned unmuted the TV as Catelyn sat on the other side of his bed. Intently, both watched the program as it informed them on natural history that they were once ignorant about.

~*~*~

Catelyn’s eyes fluttered open.

Sleepily, she rubbed her face as she closed her eyes again. Within a few minutes, she fell asleep again. Before she fell asleep, Catelyn vaguely recalled that the room was unfamiliar.

~*~*~

Light snores filled the room.

Catelyn opened eyes and was greeted with the sight of Ned’s face. It was clear that they had both fallen asleep while watching TV. As the redhead looked at her ex-boyfriend’s brother, now confidant, she noticed how peaceful and younger looked as he slept. Although the observation was cliché, it was only noteworthy to her because Brandon always looked so pained while he slept and older as well. 

Perhaps Ned was right.

While they were together, Brandon tried to please everyone except himself, which led to his constant stress. Catelyn liked to believe that she was an approachable person and it saddened her that Brandon didn’t talk to her about his issues. She knew Brandon had his own issues going on, but she wondered if his reluctance to talk to her was a reflection of her.

At the same time, Catelyn was reluctant to talk to Brandon herself. When Brandon and she agreed on about certain aspects of their relationship, things were great. But, when they were at odds, communication stopped and they didn’t talk. She never thought that he would hit her, but when Brandon got really angry, no one could say anything to him. Or, if he believed one thing, nothing anyone said went through to him. It discouraged Catelyn from freely speaking her mind and she shouldn’t have allowed that to happen. Brandon didn’t force her to be quiet; she chose to be quiet to keep things peaceful between them. 

Would things have been different if Catelyn had spoke her mind rather than letting Brandon’s anger intimidate her?

Catelyn looked at her watch. 2:33 p.m.? 

Wow.

For who two people who struggled to fall asleep, they sure slept a long time. She was expecting an hour or two. Not six, seven hours. After Catelyn stretched, her hand hovered over Ned’s shoulder as she debated whether or not she should wake him up. It seemed as if he really needed the sleep and that was the most important thing, so she left him alone for the moment. 

It wasn’t until four o’clock when Ned finally opened his eyes. He felt rested and energized. 

When he exited his bedroom, he saw Catelyn in her own clothes.

“How long was I sleep,” he asked in confusion as he sat on the couch beside her.

“Over eight hours,” she answered, as she put down the book she was reading. It seemed as if Ned started to read it, but never finished. She pointed to the book as she leaned back into the couch. “Why didn’t you finish it?”

Ned looked at the book on the counter. “Didn’t have the time anymore.” Silence enveloped the room for a beat. “Over eight hours of sleep? Did you put something in that tea?”

Catelyn laughed out loud.

“Only sugar,” she chuckled. “I think your body took advantage of the extra sleep time it’s not used to getting.”

“I get enough sleep,” Ned objected.

“Sure…you get ‘enough’ sleep,” Catelyn said in a saccharine tone, and then winked.

Ned guiltily looked at his lap. “So…that’s what a full night or day of sleep feels like; I think I need to do that more often.” 

“You should,” she agreed.

“How long have you been up,” he asked. “It’s apparent that you’ve been up longer; did your body not need the extra sleep?’

A mock glare was thrown at Ned.

“No,” she answered. “I don’t routinely sleep the bare minimum hours, so my body doesn’t have to catch up on years worth of sleep.” Ned shook his head as a smile played on his lips. “I’ve been up for an hour and an half though—I didn’t expect to sleep so long or that you would for that matter. It looked like you needed to sleep longer, so I decided against waking you up.” It was clear that she used that time to go back to her place and change.

“That was thoughtful of you,” Ned commented. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Catelyn gave Ned a warm smile.

“So, what are we doing today—the little time we have remaining?”

Catelyn gave his question some thought. “Let’s go to an arcade.”

“Seriously,” Ned questioned, with a somewhat amused expression.

“Yeah, why not,” she shrugged. “It’ll be fun.”

~*~*~ 

“Ned, stop cheating,” Catelyn demanded. For the past hour, she’d been accusing him of cheating since he was beat her at every game they played. She then tried to block his eyesight with her hand, but he anticipated this and swatted her hand away.

“You’re the one who wanted to come here,” he laughed. “It’s not my fault you are bad at games.”

Ned swatted her hand away again as he continued to defeat her. Catelyn said she wanted no mercy and even chastised Ned when he tried to let her win. And now she was upset about losing. 

“I want to win some tickets,” she complained.

“You have some,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, participation tickets—not enough to actually get anything with,” she explained. 

“Play the coin game,” Ned suggested. There was game that had a spinning wheel, which allowed a person to win a certain amount of tickets if their coins went through the slot.

“I even suck at that game, “Catelyn admitted without shame.

Ned laughed. “So, why did you suggest the arcade if you are terrible at every single game?”

“Just because I’m bad at them doesn’t mean I don’t have fun playing them,” she reasoned.

“Fair enough,” he agreed. “You ready to lose at go kart racing?”

“Talk is cheap, Stark,” Catelyn countered, as they walked outside to the go karting area. On their way, they passed the mini golf area, which Ned had beaten her at earlier. 

Although Ned was a male, it didn’t explain how good he was at all of the arcade games. When Catelyn asked Ned about it, he explained that he spent a lot of time in the arcades as a child due to loneliness. 

His father had sent him away to boarding school when he was eight, which was Stark tradition. Ned had a hard time meeting to new people, which meant he also had a hard time making friends. After school, once he finished his studies, he went to the arcades during his playtime. It allowed him entertainment as well as a distraction to his loneliness. 

Once a month, he was allowed to visit his family, but his father was against increasing the frequency of his visitations. He wanted Ned to have the Stark values and mindset instilled in his, which meant spending a lot of time at the Eyrie. Although Ned came to see Headmaster Arryn as a second father figure, Ned’s loneliness didn’t truly leave him until he met his best friend Robert Baratheon.

Robert arrived at the Eyrie at the beginning of Ned’s third year; he was defiant and a troublemaker. Within his first few days, Robert had commended the attention that seemed to elude Ned. Although Ned could defend himself, some kids still tried to bully and pick fights with him because of his quiet nature. Even as an adult, Ned didn’t understand why Robert came to his defense, but he warned others about messing with Ned. Every since then, the two had been as thick as thieves. 

Ned fondly told Catelyn stories about his youth in the Eyrie and his adventures with Robert. He explained that, even at a young age, Robert subconsciously knew that he needed something to counterbalance his wild nature and Ned was it (this still didn’t explain why he defended him in the first place against bullies though). Although Robert didn’t completely pull Ned out of his shell, Robert gave him the much-needed interaction and taught him some social cues that he lacked. 

Upon hearing this, Catelyn felt saddened that Ned felt such loneliness and isolation as a child. It also cast Robert in a different light when she heard what he did for Ned. With this newfound information, she now understood their friendship way better than she originally did. They seemed so much like opposites—they still were, but they balanced out one another.

After the gate opened, Catelyn pulled in front of him and drove slowly.

“Let me get this correct: I’m the cheat?” Ned asked, noting the irony.

Catelyn pulled from in front of him and allowed Ned to drive to her side.

“I may be very bad at arcade games,” she began as the drove side by side. “But, I kick ass at go karting.”

Living up to her boast, Catelyn left Ned in the dust. No matter how hard he tried, Ned couldn’t catch her and she sustained a very admirable lead in front of him. Ned wasn’t mad at his loss; he was pretty impressed actually. Catelyn beat the other racers on the track with them and even managed to lap three of them. 

“I feel vindicated right now,” Catelyn gloated. “I think I should get half of your tickets, at least the very least, for the spanking I just gave you.”

“Said the person who just went on the longest losing streak known to man before winning her first time today,” Ned joked, and then grabbed a handful out his tickets and gave it to her.

“Ned, I was just joking,” Catelyn said, as she shoved the tickets back in Ned’s direction.

“I know,” he shrugged. “But, I want you to be able to get a good prize as well.” He shoved the tickets towards her again. “Take them. Don’t fight me on this—we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves, remember?”

Catelyn squinted her eyes at him. “I can see Robert’s influence now.” Ned rolled his eyes as they walked back into the building. Catelyn stopped at the prize counter as Ned kept walking. 

“Where are you going?” Catelyn looked at him in confusion.

“The coin game,” he answered. 

Strategically, Ned released the coins as his coins kept entering the 30-ticket slot. In silence, Catelyn watched after she had retrieved her prize. She got some candy because the other prizes weren’t appealing to her besides the huge bear that she clearly didn’t have enough tickets for. Honestly, it was the only prize worth getting besides the candy as an adult in the arcade. She bragged to Ned that she was going to win it earlier even though she knew better.

“Let me guess,” Catelyn began. “You spent your youth learning how to win at this game as well?”

Ned shrugged. “When you spent most of your free time at the arcade, eventually you want to master every game.”

“Did you have high scores for all of the games?”

“At one point,” he answered. “But, records are meant to be broken.”

After he deposited his last few coins, Ned then went to insert his tickets in the ticket counting machine and retrieved his slip once the machine was done. 

“What prize would you like, sir?” The teen took Ned’s ticket after he placed it on the glass counter.

Thoughtfully, Ned looked all of the prizes and calculated which ones he could get to max out his ticket credits. 

“I would like the basketball mount set, the variety candy pack, three balloons—blue and red—doesn’t matter which has more, and the huge teddy bear,” he requested. The young woman retrieved what Ned asked for and he tied the balloons around the teddy bears wrist and gave it to Catelyn. “Here.”

“Ned, it’s too much,” Catelyn said, as she tried to hand the bear back to Ned. “Those were your tickets—I already took some earlier.”

“No, I gave you some,” Ned corrected, and held his hands up so he wouldn’t have to take the bear back. Catelyn sat the bear down on the glass counter.

“Ned,” Catelyn said again. “I can’t take it. Return it and get something for yourself.”

“I got something for myself,” he argued, and then pointed to the candy and plastic basketball wall mount. “I’m not returning it, so I guess I’ll have to give it to someone who wants it. Maybe I could leave it by the door and place a sign that says ‘free bear.’”

“Oh, give me the bear.” Catelyn picked the bear up, which was wider than her body and half the size of her height. Secretly, she smiled into the bear as the walked out the door.

~*~*~

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Ned said, as he got the waiter’s attention. The waiter stopped and gave a smile as he looked at Ned.

“How can I help you, sir?”

“May I get a chair for the lady’s bear,” he asked. “I know it’s a weird request, but she won’t sit it on the floor and, as you can see, it’s wider than she is.”

The waiter gave an amused grinned. “No problem, sir.”

Immediately, the waiter arrived with a chair, which the bear was sat in and their frozen yogurts and coffees arrived shortly after that. 

Catelyn moaned in pleasure as she devoured her frozen yogurt.

“Oh my God, Ned, this is delicious,” Catelyn raved, as she stuffed her mouth with more yogurt. “How did you even discover this place? How come I’ve never heard about it?”

“It’s a start up business,” Ned explained. “Despite the five star quality, they were initially floundering because of lack of advertising and bad location. I invested in them and moved the location, and then revved up the promotion. Business is booming now, but it’ll take a moment longer for word to spread about them.”

“If they lacked advertising and had a terrible location how did you hear about them?” Catelyn sipped her coffee as she intently stared at Ned.

Ned gave a tightlipped smile. 

“Ashara,” he said as way of explanation. “She took a dance class down the block. One day as we were walking back to my car after he class, she saw this place and was in the mood for frozen yogurt, so we went in. From that moment on, it just became our place.”

“Do you come here regularly,” Catelyn, asked.

“No, actually, I haven’t been here in months,” he admitted. “Before Ashara and I ended our relationship, I found out that they were going out of business and offered to invest in them under a few stipulations, which was change of scenery, control of how they were advertised, and if I was able to be in charge of the books. And they had a few stipulations of their own: not infringing on their creativity and layout—the small business feel. I agreed to it and we’ve been in business ever since then.”

“So, why’d you take me here?” Catelyn leaned her on elbows as she looked at Ned.

After giving the place a once over, Ned stared back at Catelyn. “Well, I thought you might like the place and I needed to check on the place…see how everything’s going.”

“How’s it looking?”

“Better than before,” he answered, and then are a spoonful of frozen yogurt. “Do you like it?”

“Yes,” she replied, as she smoothed out a napkin. “The small business feel—almost like a café—works for it. I love the personal touches including in here. Very colorful. The coffee I had was definitely in the top three brews I’ve ever tasted. The frozen yogurt is, without a doubt, the best. They have nice background music, unique tables and chairs. I can say for sure that I’m telling others about this place. Ned, this is a very good investment and I can’t wait to see it pay off.”

Ned grinned. 

“Me too,” he agreed. He sipped his coffee to hide the blush on his cheeks. Guiltily, Ned bit his lip and looked out the window. Catelyn was his brother’s ex and his feelings were inappropriate, especially because she was still upset about their split. Also, Ned knew that Catelyn would never feel for him like she did for Brandon—that is if a romantic thought about him dared to ever cross her mind. It was Brandon for God’s sake. After being with him, why would any woman give him a second glance? That’s not even mentioning the fact that Brandon was the best at romance and sex because why wouldn’t he be?

“Ashara?” Catelyn gave Ned a concerned look. She saw him get lost in his thoughts as his mood became somber. 

“She was my first,” Ned stated, misleading Catelyn to think his somber mood was about his ex and not her. “First kiss, first relationship…first sexual encounter. Ashara’s the only reference point that I have. So, I’m a late bloomer in how to deal with break ups and coping.” He stared at his hands, and then rubbed them together. “I know we were opposites, but I expected it to last. But, deep down I guess I knew it wouldn’t. Not with a woman like her.”

“What does that mean?” Ned’s remark caught Catelyn by surprise.

Deeply, Ned exhaled. “Ashara is fun and adventurous; gorgeous and charming. I’m serious and reserved; average and frank.”

Catelyn eyes widened in shock. “You cannot be serious, Ned. We just spent three hours at an arcade and I’ve never had so much fun in my life and, I guarantee you, it was largely because of you. You may not be the life of the party, but that doesn’t make you a boring person. And who cares if you aren’t adventurous, your company is quite enjoyable. And, average? You’re a very handsome man, Ned.”

“Not as handsome as Brandon,” he quipped.

“Even so,” she didn’t deny. “That doesn’t make you average or unattractive; it just means that you aren’t as attractive,” she argued. “I don’t know why you feel the way you do or if Ashara made you feel insecure about yourself, but you are definitely a catch, Ned, and any woman would be lucky to have you.”

~*~*~

In wonderment, Catelyn gazed at the fireworks.

“I can’t ever look at fireworks without thinking of Brandon,” Catelyn voiced softly.

“Oh,” Ned began. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Do you want to leave?”

“Oh no,” Catelyn hurriedly said. “It’s fine. Surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt and I’m not upset.” A chuckle. “Before Brandon and I had our first kiss, we saw fireworks.”

Ned thought for a moment. “It was New Year’s day, right?”

“Yes,” she answered. “The fireworks went off as the clock turned twelve, and then we kissed. I remember feeling butterflies in my stomach—it almost feeling like fireworks down there. And then thinking how cliché that comparison was.” A sad smile appeared on her face. “It was a good kiss—a memorable one. I didn’t know what the future would bring, but I didn’t care at that moment. Maybe I should have.”

“How were you to know,” he rhetorically asked.

“I couldn’t have,” she admitted. “But still, that was a lot of time invested in Brandon only to find out he cheated most of the time and that he didn’t want the same things I did. I guess the only saving grace is that we didn’t get married.”

“Do you hate him,” Ned asked.

“No,” Catelyn answered. She seemed almost surprised by her response. “Maybe I should, but it’s not worth the energy. And, despite the grief he caused me, I actually feel sorry for him. He was caught between trying to be who your dad wanted him to be and trying to break away from who he enjoyed being. A person can’t grow up or be the person they need to be until they are ready; Brandon wasn’t, but his hand was forced.”

In silence, they continued to watch the fireworks. They sat on a blanket on the beach as the fireworks exploded in vibrant colors. 

Every Wednesday and Saturday, Winterfell had a firework show at nine. Ned and Catelyn decided to catch the show since they were near.

“I’ve probably since fireworks a million times, but it always looks much more enchanting than the last time I saw them,” she said, breaking the silence. 

“I know, I try to catch the show when I can,” Ned agreed. “I’ve seen fireworks in other places, but none of them have anything on Winterfell.”

“Of course you’d say that.” Catelyn rolled her eyes, and then nudged Ned with her shoulder. But, silently, she agreed with him. Winterfell did seem to have the best fireworks, even better than Riverrun and never thought another city could top their show.

One by one, drops of water began to fall on them.

Catelyn raised her arms to shield herself.

“It’s raining,” she complained.

“It’s not that bad,” Ned remarked. 

After he spoke, rain poured down on them as if a bucket had been emptied. Quickly, Ned pulled up the blanket and covered Catelyn. Catelyn grabbed the cover as Ned wrapped and arm around their shoulder and blindly ran for shelter. 

Although his vision was mostly obstructed, Ned saw that they were nearing the pier. He pulled Catelyn closer.

“Ned,” Catelyn screamed.

“We’re almost to the pier, Cat,” he replied.

A few seconds later, they reached their destination. Catelyn threw the blanket off of her body and laughed. Her laugh was so infectious that Ned joined her.

“Is that how you define not that bad, Ned?” Visibly, Catelyn shivered.

“Yes,” he lied. “Winterfell’s rains are like the winters, brutal. This is nothing.”

Catelyn rolled her eyes. “Eddard Stark, you are full of shit, you know that, right?” Ned chuckled at this. “Good thing I left the bear in the car.”

“Yeah, good thing,” Ned agreed. Catelyn leaned against a pillar as she wrapped her arms tightly around her body. The smaller woman shook profusely as Ned hesitated to go to her. She was cold, but he didn’t know how she would respond with him trying to provide her warmth. 

The rain continued to pour as Catelyn’s shivering increased and her teeth began to chatter. She was going to be sick.

Ned wasted no more time and went to her. Strong arms wrapped themselves around her body as Ned forced Catelyn to lay her head on his chest. Although Ned was wet himself, he knew that his body heat would warm Catelyn. 

“Better,” he asked.

“Much better,” she replied. “Well, it looks as if you may get another day off—but this one may not be as enjoyable.”

“We’ll see.” Ned pulled Catelyn closer as she burrowed her head deeper into his chest. “Thanks for today.”

Catelyn looked up at Ned. “You’re welcome; you really needed it.”

Ned laughed.

Catelyn’s hair was matted on her face, which was really red in addition to it being obviously wet. Her eyes were incredibly blue. She gave him a small smile. As if something had taken control of Ned, his hands gently grabbed and pulled her face towards his and his mouth descended upon hers. 

Her lips were soft and moist, despite her wet state. Hungrily Ned deepened the kiss, and then pulled away when Catelyn didn’t respond.

Catelyn’s eyes searched his own as she remained silent.

“I’m sor—“ Catelyn’s lips interrupted his apology as she put her arms around his shoulders. Ned grabbed her waist and pulled her closer. He felt her teeth nip at his lips before her tongue entered his mouth. Her hand pulled his head closer and Ned grabbed one of her legs and wrapped it around his waist, which the other leg followed shortly afterwards. 

Although Ned’s guilt would be unbearable later on tonight, Ned suckled on Catelyn’s neck as her back hit the pillar.


	2. Chapter 2

“Sometimes I feel like damaged goods,” Catelyn said absentmindedly as she stared at a married couple. She and Ned were doing a cool down walk after running for forty-five minutes when they came across a wedding at a park.

Ned wore an alarmed expression. “Why?”

“I gave Brandon everything,” she vaguely offered before stopping and stretching her calves against a tree. “How many men would want to be with me after that?”

“Any man in his right man,” Ned argued. He knew what Catelyn was getting at. “And it’s not like we live back in the biblical days where a sexually active woman is worthless.”

“Some men act like that,” she replied. “I know I’ve only been with Brandon, but I always thought that Brandon would be the only one too. And just to put so much investment in one person only for it to end is just disheartening.”

Catelyn wasn’t angry with Brandon or still heartbroken by their break up, but she didn’t want to think about dating for a long time. But, there were times when she thought about how entering the dating life again would turn out for her. Would guys be interested in her? Would she intimidate them since she used to be engaged to a rich and powerful man? Would they think something was wrong with her since he broke off the engagement?

“Cat, it shouldn’t matter if you had sex with one guy or ten guys, a guy should never determine your worth by how many partners you’ve had. That’s not right or fair. If he does, don’t give him a second thought,” Ned advised. “And if your friends judge you, then they aren’t really your friends.”

“That’s very enlightened of you, Ned,” Catelyn smiled. Ned gulped down his water and licked the stray water droplets away from his lips. The redhead couldn’t help but to look.

A few months had passed since they kissed under the pier. Catelyn had no idea what came over her that night. She found Ned physically attractive, but she wasn’t romantically interested in him. She found herself wanting to kiss him…to make out with him. Despite the acknowledged attraction to him, that still didn’t explain her initial behavior under the pier.

Ned was an extremely good kisser. Not as good as Brandon, but it was different and left her wanting. Brandon’s kisses were charming, passionate where as Ned’s were intense; it was a comparison she’d never thought she’d make. Catelyn felt that intensity in her gut and the throbbing between her legs, which Ned tried to relieve through her pants that night.

Unfortunately, they never talked about that night. It was too awkward to talk about let alone address. They got carried away.

Catelyn wondered what would’ve happened in they’d been in a room.

To be honest, it was Ned who was avoiding the subject. Catelyn had no idea what his deal was and decided it was best to not bring it back up. But, she really wanted to kiss him again. They could make out and not talk about what they were doing.

These thoughts and feelings confused Catelyn; she had no idea what was going with her. She should want to address the fact she and Ned made out and how she constantly wanted to shove her tongue down his throat. Ned was her ex-fiancé’s brother; it made sense why Ned didn’t want to talk about it—it was betrayal on his part. They had a moment and acted on it, but that was all. On a basic level, it made sense that Catelyn didn’t want to talk about it either, but that all went out the window with her increased urges for the Brandon’s younger brother.

The development left Catelyn perplexed.

And yet, she still found herself wanting to capture his lips with her own.

~*~*~

Ned and Catelyn clicked their glassed before the opening credits splashed across the screen.

They were watching Bring It On.

All throughout the movie, Catelyn stole glances at her viewing companion. She had no clue what she was looking for or how she expected him to behave. They’d had movie nights before and she didn’t pay nearly as much as attention to him as she was now.

By nature, Ned was a mostly stoic person, well, for those who didn’t know him. But, Catelyn spent enough time with Ned that she knew he was warmer or, as warm as he could be, around his family. She’d learn his little cues when it wasn’t apparent that he found something amusing, such as the crinkle of his eyes when he found a person or joke humorous.

Catelyn saw those crinkles around his eyes now as he watched as the East Compton Clover’s perform in the bleachers as they embarrassed the Toro’s by expertly performing the same routine, and then adding their own insult at the end.

At that, a small smile played on his lips.

Ned was honestly enjoying the moving, which didn’t surprise Catelyn. After how well he received Clueless and Mean Girls, Ned finding Bring It On entertaining wasn’t shocking.

Imagine her reaction when Ned said to her one day, “The frequency in which Gideon Oliver keeps proposing this deal to Brandon is like fetch happening—it’s not.”

Every few minutes, Catelyn burst out laughing. Tears streamed down her face at the fact that he’d made a Mean Girls joke and compared it to a business deal. It was so un Ned-like or, at least, not what she expected of him. It made Catelyn realize that she didn’t know Ned as well as she thought; he was quiet, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t funny as well and couldn’t make jokes.

But, it got even better.

When Catelyn asked Ned what was so bad about the deal, he said with a straight face, “It’s a full on Monet.”

At Catelyn’s confused expression Ned elaborated, “It’s like a painting. From far away, it’s OK, but up close, it’s a big old mess.”

Laughter shot out of her at the Clueless reference.

Ned’s intimidation of Cher sent Catelyn over the edge and her stomach hurt from laughing so hard and so long. Eddard Stark definitely kept unfolding like a flower the better she got to know him.

Catelyn turned her attention back to the movie.

If this were Brandon, he’d be making out with her by now. He didn’t really care for movies and cared for chick flicks even less. Ned was less discriminating when it came to movies and legitimately tried to watch them. But, then again, Catelyn didn’t know what she expected out of Ned. He still hadn’t brought up that night and didn’t seem to want to, so why would he make a move on her?

And why did she want him to?

After the movie ended, Catelyn got up to put in another movie She’s the Man. It wasn’t as much as a teen classic as the other three, but it was still a classic in her book.

As the previews played, Catelyn said, “I miss cheerleading.”

“You used to be a cheerleader?” Ned seemed pleasantly surprised to learn this. “How long were you one?”

“Originally, I was a cheerleader as a little girl,” she explained. “When my mother passed away, I quit to help raise Lysa and Edmure.”

“But, you were young yourself,” Ned inquired, as concern laced his voice.

“Well, yes,” she began. “But, my father took my mother’s death really hard and I was all my siblings had. There were other family members, but none of them could get through to my brother and sister like I could. Because of that, I knew I needed to step up or our family would never get be able to regain a measure of normalcy.”

“That’s very admirable of you,” Ned complimented. “Especially for a nine year old.”

“We all have to grow up some time,” Catelyn said.

“Yes, but that was far too young, wouldn’t you say?”

“It was,” she agreed. “Despite that, I don’t resent my father for it; he was drowning and I was his life raft. Sometimes, parents get their strength from their kids.”

Ned was silent for a moment before saying, “I suppose that is true.” He finished his slice of pizza, and then grabbed another one. “When did you start back up?”

“In high school,” she answered, “Over the summer, I practiced with a lot of my cheerleader friends. I barely made the team since some of the girls had much more experience over me, but I worked my ass off and became one of the best at my school. By my senior year, I was the head cheerleader.”

“That’s great,” he congratulated. “You must’ve been proud of yourself.”

“I was,” Catelyn beamed. “I worked so hard to get where I was.”

“I believe you.” Ned sipped his beer. Suddenly, he said, “Show me something.”

Catelyn turned her head towards Ned. “Come again?”

“Show me a routine,” he repeated. Then teased, “That is if you can still do it.”

“Ha ha,” she faux laughed. “You’re not funny, Ned.”

“You have to admit, I’m a little funny,” he grinned. “Come on,” he prodded, and then lightly poked her side. Catelyn giggled.

“Okay, okay,” she relented. “You don’t have to beg.”

After she got up, Catelyn paced back and forth as she decided which routine she would perform for Ned.

“I have it,” she announced, once she zeroed in on her decision. As Catelyn clasped her hands together, she said, “Ready…”

In pure delight, Ned watched Catelyn enthusiastically perform her high school cheerleader routine with near accuracy. After she finished, Catelyn asked Ned to move around his furniture so she could do another routine. His living room was spacious and she promised not to break anything when she flipped, Ned believed her.

Although her flips weren’t as tight as Ned believed they should’ve been, considering that Catelyn hadn’t done the routine, let alone flipped in years, she was amazing. There was a little fear in her eyes, but she didn’t let that get to her as landed the flips before transitioning from one move to the next. Ned was impressed. She moved well and was having fun.

After Catelyn finished, she bowed.

“Thank you, thank you,” she said, as she bowed to imaginary patrons.

“That was incredible,” Ned complimented. He clapped at a job well done

There was something infectious about Ned’s excitement. His enthusiasm for her performance lifted her already high spirits, even higher. An unexplainable feeling took ahold of Catelyn as she suddenly walked to Ned, and then pulled him into a kiss. There was little resistance as Ned opened his mouth wider to give access to Catelyn’s prodding tongue. They alternated between short kisses and long, languid kisses.

Slowly, without breaking the kiss, Catelyn pushed Ned back until his knees hit the couch and he sat down. The redhead wasted no time straddling Ned as she felt his hands grab her hips. She grinded her hips against his as she frantically kissed him.

Gods, she really wanted this—him—badly.

Ned pulled her closer as he wrapped his arms around his body, and then placed her in a laying position on the couch. It made her wet in anticipation as her hips thrust up towards his. In frustration, Catelyn wrapped a leg around Ned’s waist to pull him closer. She just…she just needed some friction and Ned was driving her crazy with his touch and kisses.

“Ned,” she hungrily gasped. “Ned please…”

Small, quick fingers rushed to buckle his belt, and then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants.

Ned held his body up on one arm, as he looked as Catelyn pull his cock out of his boxers. With a knowing touch, Catelyn stroked Ned’s cock and he moaned softly into her hair.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait.” Ned abruptly stood up and tucked himself into his boxers before he paced back and forth. “We can—we can’t do this, Cat.”

Flushed with desire, Catelyn stood up as well as she ran a hand through her hair. “What do you mean we can’t do this? We just were about to.”

“And it would’ve been wrong,” he declared. “You’re my brother’s ex-fiancé; we shouldn’t be having sex, let alone kissing.”

“Yes, his EX. That means we are no longer together,” she pointed it. Despite this, Catelyn knew better; she knew that her argument was weak. Although she and Brandon broke up; as siblings, it’s viewed as wrong to have sex and/or date your sibling former significant other (even gross to some). It wasn’t as if she and Brandon dated a few months. They were together for years and almost got married.

She understood Ned’s conflict, she really did, but Catelyn irrationally argued against it anyway.

“Still. You and Brandon were engaged and I cannot betray my brother that way.” Ned looked at everything, except her, which hurt.

“But, you want me, Ned,” she argued back. “That’s pretty clear at this point.”

“Yes, and I shouldn’t want you.” Ned looked at Catelyn and she could see the conflict and pain in his eyes. “But, that doesn’t mean I should hurt my brother like this.”

“In what way is that,” Catelyn inquired. “He didn’t want me; he ended our engagement. He postponed it only because he didn’t want to marry me. He cheated on me. How could you hurt him by wanting someone he didn’t want?”

“It’s not that simple, Cat; Brandon cared about you, he just didn’t know how to be in a commitment relationship,” Ned explained.

Catelyn shook her head. “I don’t care. He didn’t want me and you do and--and I want you. Why isn’t that enough? Why does his feelings even matter here and now?”

“What do you want?” Ned walked closer to Catelyn as he spoke. “Do you want to have sex? Do you want a relationship? What is it exactly that you want from me, Catelyn? Sex? A relationship? Companionship?”

At a loss for words, Catelyn stammered, “I—I—I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Ned’s tone sounded almost like a disappointed father and Catelyn felt ashamed. “Well, how about you find out. That’s more important than trying to get me out of my pants.”

“Ned, I…” Catelyn searched for the words to articulate her thoughts, but there weren’t any. She really didn’t know what she wanted from him.

“Let’s pretend this didn’t happen.” Although it came off like a suggestion, it a demand. Catelyn’s stomach dropped. She should feel appreciative that Ned wasn’t going to hold her behavior against her, but it made her feel unsettled. Caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Ned was arranging the furniture in its original position. Once he was finished, he faced her.

“I’m going to call it a night,” he informed. “But, you can stay as long as you like.”

Catelyn didn’t know what to do: she thought it’d be best if she left, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. So, she stayed watched half of the movie that she put in earlier, which was difficult to enjoy because of how things ended between her and Ned. Yes, she wanted to have sex with him, but she didn’t want to only have sex with him. At the same time, Catelyn knew she wasn’t looking for a relationship—she never considered anything romantic with Ned.

Despite this, Catelyn found that she wanted to be in Ned’s presence for reasons that went beyond sex.

Perhaps she was looking for an intimate companionship.

Conventional wisdom said that Catelyn should leave the situation alone, but she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t.

She needed to talk to Ned and make him understand.

For a moment, Catelyn stood by the door in silence. She knew how she felt, but she didn’t know how to put it into words. Although she wasn’t seeking a romantic relationship with Ned, this was still big: Brandon’s presence wasn’t something that could be ignored. Nor would it be.

Softly, Catelyn knocked on the door before opening it.

“Ned?”

Ned slowly exhaled as he looked at her.

“Yes, Cat,” Ned, answered. He was propped up on pillows as he read what Catelyn presumed to be a business file. His glasses were perched on his nose as he read and had changed into a tank top and gray sweats.

“I don’t want to pretend it didn’t happen.” As if she was a teenage girl, Catelyn spoke with vulnerability in her voice that she hadn’t felt in years.

Ned removed the glasses from his face as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed. In frustration, he rested his head in his hands. “It’s best if we do.”

Whatever confidence Catelyn had when she walked in, was all gone. Ned couldn’t even look at her.

“You’re right,” she said. In resignation, she stood and harshly rubbed her clammy hands together. “I—I...I don’t’ know what I was thinking.”

As Catelyn turned to leave the room, Ned got up.

“Cat,” he called out.

Abruptly, Catelyn stopped and faced Ned as she stood between the door and the frame as his hand rested on the knob. “No…you were right; we should pretend this didn’t happen.”

With that, she closed the door.

As much as Ned knew he should have gone after her, he didn’t. With a light thump, his head hit the door. What was going on?

Every since he kissed her at the pier, Ned beat himself up about betraying Brandon and taking advantage of Catelyn’s vulnerable state. She had come to him for support the previous day and the next day he had his tongue down her throat. Although he was in love with Catelyn, that didn’t excuse his behavior.

He didn’t want to think about Catelyn’s motivations…both then and now.

But, why did Catelyn kiss him back?

Even though she knew that Brandon didn’t want the same things and cheated on her, Ned suspected that she still loved Brandon and that Ned was the second best thing in that moment. Although Ned could never be or measure up to Brandon, Catelyn was desperate and returned his kiss.

And, tonight, well…the wedding at the park earlier must’ve really triggered something in her. He remembered the night that she stood at his door in her wedding dress.

Ned was just a substitute for the real thing—a poor one at that. For Gods’ sake, she dated Brandon for years and was formerly engaged to him. What could she possibly want from Ned that Brandon already hadn’t given her and done it ten times better at that? Brandon was handsome, funny, charming, spontaneous, romantic, and confident; Ned was average looking, practical, and smart. He couldn’t blame women for wanting a guy like Brandon or not giving him a second look. Who could compete?

Low in spirits, Ned laid down in his bed.

Tiredly, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

His heard his door open followed by a few footsteps. “Ned,” he heard a soft voice whisper next to him.

With his eyes still closed, Ned pressed on his temples.

“Cat—“ Catelyn’s lips crushed against Ned’s as she cut him off. One hand lightly rested on his chest as she pulled his head closer with her other hand.

One of Ned’s arms snaked around Catelyn’s waist and pulled her closer as his other hand went to her face. Wet kisses were exchanged as tongues rubbed together, teeth nipped, and hands brought one another closer.

Slowly, Catelyn pulled away from Ned. Ever so slightly, her thumb brushed his lips as Catelyn stared at him with warm eyes.

“I can’t pretend.” Catelyn pulled a few pillows from behind Ned’s head and left him with one. Rather than walking around the bed, Catelyn crawled over Ned’s body to sit on the bed and moved to the middle. She gestured for Ned to scoot closer to her and Ned complied. One kiss, then two was placed on his forehead before she moved to each eyelid, and then his nose and his mouth. Catelyn kissed his chin and his neck as her hand-traveled south and slipped beneath Ned’s waistband of his sweatpants and underwear. His cock was already semi hard (or was it still semi hard). Involuntarily, a low moan escaped from Ned as he thrust into her hand while she rubbed the head of his cock. Catelyn’s grip became firmer as she rubbed his shaft at a slow pace.

“Fuck,” Ned, grunted as breath hitched.

Catelyn released Ned’s cock and her hand slid under his tank top. Gently, she rubbed on his stomach up and down. Intently, Ned stared at Catelyn as she caressed his body. Her hands moved over his chest before squeezing his biceps. She looked focused while a fire burned in her eyes.

Expecting Ned to follow her lead, Catelyn pulled Ned’s tank top over his head and waited for him to lift his body to accommodate her. After his shirt was off, Catelyn quickly got rid of his underwear and sweats.

With slight curiosity, Catelyn noticed that, unlike Brandon, Ned wasn’t circumcised. Although Brandon was longer, Ned had more girth. A shiver went up Catelyn’s spine at this fact.

As Catelyn straddled him, she felt dominant and powerful: Ned was completely naked under her and at her mercy. His cock is fully erect and resting against the cloth that covered the crack of her ass. Catelyn rocked her hips and Ned put his hands on her waist to still her.

Ned attempted to undress Catelyn, but she grabbed his hands and held them above his head. She shook her head no, and then kissed his lips. Ned eagerly kissed her back as their kisses became more and more passionate.

“Where’s your condoms,” she mumbled against his lips.

Distracted by her mouth, Ned blanked on her question. “Umm…” On its on accord, his mouth preferred to kiss Catelyn rather than answer her question.

“Ned.” Catelyn grinned at him as she bit her lip.

He smiled at her. “Check the—check the drawer on the right. My right, your left.” Without getting off of Ned, Catelyn leaned over to the nightstand, but she couldn’t reach it. She groaned in displeasure and crawled over to the dresser, and then opened it. “Not in here.”

“Then, it’s in my medicine cabinet,” he answered. Catelyn gave him a mock glare before standing up and walking to the bathroom. After she grabbed one, she made her way back to Ned. She held the condom in her mouth as she seductively took off her shirt and pants. Her movements were very slow and deliberate as Ned touched himself as he watched. Keeping her bra and panties on, Catelyn slowly crawled to Ned, and then positioned her body over his without sitting down.

Blindly, Catelyn reached behind her back and unclasped her bra. The straps lazily slid down her shoulders then arms as the bra fell to the bed. As if mesmerized, Ned gazed at her breasts. One by one, Catelyn took his hands and brought the to her breasts. Gently, Ned squeezed them and Catelyn snapped her eyes shut as she groaned at his touch. Feather light kisses were placed between her breasts as Ned played with them. A hot tongue scorched her skin as Ned licked them, and then began to suckle on them.

“Ned,” she moaned, and the condom fell out of her mouth while she brought Ned closer to her chest. “Ned…”

Strong hands ran up and down her back as they pulled her closer.

“Lie down,” she instructed and Ned immediately obeyed. “Put your hands above your head,” Catelyn said breathily.

His hands were raised.

Catelyn scooted back and picked the condom up off of the bed. She blindly threw the wrapper to the side after taking the condom out of its package. With care and tenderness, she unrolled the latex onto Ned’s turgid dick. Quickly, she got rid of her panties and got back on top of Ned.

Carefully, Catelyn lowered herself onto his cock. She groaned at how Ned penis stretched her. This was definitely different from her experience with Brandon. A part of Catelyn was disgusted by the comparison, but at the same time, Brandon was her only point of reference when it came to sex. The only unfortunate part about having sex with Ned was that he was related to her ex fiancé and nothing would change that fact.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as she let her vagina get used to the feel of him. At first, Catelyn moved at a very slow pace, but after a few minutes, she somewhat increased the speed as she moved on the full length of his cock.

It just—it just felt so good.

Ned had enough of the submissive act and flipped positions with her. Before Catelyn could protest, Ned put one of her legs on his shoulder and slid into her. His strokes were deep and measured as Catelyn just about lost her mind. Her head burrowed deeply into the pillow as she held her other leg back to allow Ned better access and her free hand gripped the comforter.

Ned raised Catelyn’s other leg unto his shoulder, and then pulled her farther down on the bed with his cock rested in her. He then leaned forward and Catelyn felt her muscle stretch as her legs touched her breast. Suddenly, Ned slammed into her. Again, and again, and again.

Catelyn couldn’t speak.

And she almost couldn’t breath.

“Ned,” she moaned to her partner. With closed eyes, his forehead rested against hers as he pumped into her. “Ned.”

Catelyn caressed his face to get his attention. Distractedly, Ned slowed down and looked at her. Nothing but fondness escaped her eyes before she pulled him into a tender, passionate kiss. Gradually, their kissing intensified as Ned picked up his pace.

Not only couldn’t Catelyn pretend, she couldn’t go back to how they were after tonight.

~*~*~*~*~

“Who’s the guy?”

Catelyn raised an eyebrow, and then sipped her champagne. “What guy?”

“The guy who has you glowing and grinning like a fool,” her friend Genevieve answered.

“There’s no guy,” Catelyn stated. “I’m just at a place where I can be myself again.”

“Is that right,” Genevieve questioned in an unbelieving tone.

“Yes, that’s right,” she said. “There’s no guy; I’m not dating anyone, Viev.”

Catelyn hoped that Genevieve missed the somewhat specific nature of her answer. Although she wasn’t dating or seeing anyone, Catelyn was definitely fucking Ned on a very, very regular basis. In fact, she woke up in his bed this morning with his head between her legs.

_“Umm…oh, oh…Ned,” she gasped, as his tongue firmly brushed her clit while his fingers stroked a sweet spot. “Ned.”_

_She pulled his head closer to her between her legs as she pushed clit closer to his face. “Harder,” she gasped. “Harder.”_

_“Well, maybe you are better off alone than you were with Brandon because I never saw you this happy while you were with him,” Genevieve stated. “Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy since I’ve known you.”_

_Catelyn sipped her champagne to hide her blush. Surely, Genevieve was overstating her assessment of Catelyn’s improved mood. Although she believed that Ned had a positive impact on her, was it really that much? At this point in her life, he was the catalyst behind the slight, but significant changes she’d made so far. How could she attribute it to anyone, but him? Even before they embarked upon a sexual relationship, Ned provided a calm and insightful influence. Catelyn wasn’t out of control, but there were times that her emotions needed to be reeled in; she needed someone to tell her take a deep breath and that everything was going to be all right._

_Catelyn took a deep breath, and then took Ned deeper into her throat._

_“Fuck, Cat,” Ned panted, as his hand gentled cradled her head. The redhead’s hand and mouth moved in unison as her grip became firmer and she took more of him in her mouth._

_Ned almost came when she looked as she bobbed her head up and down on his cock. Catelyn’s lips were wrapped around his cock as she looked at him with her deep blue eyes. At an excruciatingly slow pace, her tongue licked the length of Ned’s penis. As Catelyn maintained eye contact with Ned, her tongue brushed firmly against his erect penis as she gauged Ned’s reaction. His pupils were dilated as he stared intently at her. His breathing was in short puffs as he hands clutched the sheets._

_She smirked._

_When Catelyn reached the head of his cock, she alternated between sucking it and stroking it, which drove Ned wild. It rendered him incoherent as he lifted his hips in reaction to her technique._

_Instead of using her tongue, Catelyn trailed her lips down his cock as she placed kisses along the way. She could see Ned was hanging on by a thread._

_It pleased her to no end._

_The first time Catelyn gave Ned a blowjob, it intimidated her. Ned wasn’t longer than Brandon, but he was wider. It was exciting to think of when it came to actual sex, but oral sex? She had no clue how it’d fit in her mouth let alone breath. But, after the first few times, the intimidation slid away and taking Ned in her mouth was an enjoyable experience. Ned being Ned, he’d never ask that of her, but when she first offered, she saw that it was an idea that appealed to him, it made her want to do it even more._

_Brandon often asked her to go down on him. He’d say that he loved sex, but that oral sex was enjoyable as well. Catelyn found it odd that Ned would readily dive head first between her legs, but never asked for reciprocation. So, she offered, despite Ned insisting that she didn’t have to. Because even though his words said no, she knew him well enough to know that it wasn’t due to lack of interest._

_Eventually, he relented when Catelyn forced him to be honest with her._

_Usually, Catelyn initiated those moments, but there were rare times, like tonight, where Ned asked her to give him a blowjob. Hesitant, but eyes filled with lust. And in times like that, Catelyn wanted to drive him insane. She wanted him to beg for her to always suck his cock._

_When Catelyn reached the base of his cock, she grinned, and then sucked on one testicle then the other._

_Moments later, they simultaneously performed on one another in a languid pace with a hint of intensity and passion. Catelyn was euphoric and dizzy for reasons she couldn’t place—reasons more than great sex could begin to describe. Whatever this feeling was, she hoped it didn’t end._

_Ned stopped and placed kisses on her thighs. Firmly, he squeezed her legs, and then slapped her ass._

_“Ned,” she, gasped. Catelyn was on edge since Ned had denied her orgasm all since she woke up. Sudden, unexpected movements could set her off._

_Ned disentangled their limbs and gathered some pillows by the headboard of the bed._

_“I need to feel you, to be inside you,” he stated, as his erect cock bobbed with every movement. Catelyn clutched her legs together in anticipation._

_Quick and smoothly, Ned unrolled a condom on his dick as he lay back against the pillows and headboard._

_“Come here,” he ordered._

_A shiver went up Catelyn’s spine at his voice. She crawled to her lover without hesitation and straddled his lap as his erect penis rested between them._

_“Sit on it,” he ordered, again._

_Ned held Catelyn’s hips as she lined herself up with his cock and slowly slid down the erect organ. A long, slow moan echoed off of the walls as Ned filled her inched by inch. His gaze switched from her to his cock entering her. She moved slowly up and down on his length before increasing her pace, in response, Ned tightened his grip on her waist._

_Catelyn rested her face in the crook of Ned’s neck and pulled him close as she rocked her hips with a bit more fervor._

_“Cat,” he, grunted out. Ned’s fingertips pressed into her hips to slow her pace. He wasn’t going to last much longer with her grinding on him the way she was._

_Her fingers ran through Ned’s hair as she then gripped his head and forced him to look at her. Momentarily her eyes searched his as if she was looking for an answer that only he could provide. Catelyn kissed Ned on the arch of his nose, and then rested her forehead against his as she slowly exhaled._

_She had no clue what they were doing, but there wasn’t anywhere else she wanted to be._

Genevieve refilled Catelyn’s glass.

“I think you are exaggerating things a bit,” Catelyn replied after some thought. “Brandon and I were together for a while, but we had a lot of good moments. It’s harder for some to remember, including myself, because the end is far more recent than the beginning. For a while, Brandon and I were incredibly happy.”

The woman nodded in agreement as she filled her own glass.

“Still…” the other woman trailed off. “You have a lighter, happier presence about you that I never saw with Brandon.”

Catelyn chuckled and shook her head.

“I do,” she admitted. “I’m no longer waiting to marry a man who kept finding reasons to postpone getting married. Understandably, I was a bit stressed and down because of that. But, in the beginning, I was happy with Brandon—even when we first got engaged. It was the end that put me in a bad place emotionally.”

Genevieve slowly nodded her head in understanding.

“What are you two doing in here,” Moira asked as she entered the kitchen. “You two are supposed to be outside interacting with the rest of the guest.”

“I had to go to the bathroom,” Catelyn explained.

Moira turned to Genevieve. “And you?”

“I was talking to Cat about something, sheesh,” Genevieve waved her friend off. “Can we have some breathing room?”

Moira ignored the question.

“You two are here to help out with my hostess duties,” she reminded, and then looked at Catelyn. “Cat, how are you?”

Catelyn wore a confused expression. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Moira slightly frowned.

“Yes,” she affirmed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Moira stole a glance outside, and then slowly huffed. “Ned’s here,” she stated. Slowly, she shook her head. “I knew that Ned and Robert were close, but I didn’t think Robert would bring him along. You’ve look the happiest you’ve ever been in a while and I don’t want him to bring that down.”

As if it was the most absurd thing Catelyn had ever heard, looked at Moira as if she had two heads. “And why would I have an issue with Ned being here?”

“Cat, he looks like Brandon, well, not as good looking, but they are similar enough,” Moira explained. “You don’t need physical reminders of your ex who strung you along for years OR Ned reporting back to his brother about how you’ve been.” After some consideration, Moira said, “Or…maybe you do so Brandon can see what he let go.”

Catelyn visibly frowned.

“Moira, I appreciate your concern, but you’re overstating things.” Catelyn looked into her glass before she sipped it. “I don’t see Brandon when I look at Ned,” she explained. “They are two completely different people, which is why I don’t mistake Ned for his brother.”

Genevieve raised an eyebrow. “You don’t see Brandon in Ned? I agree that their personalities are as different as night and day, but I find it hard to believe that that overshadows their physical similarities.”

At this Catelyn gave a tightlipped smile. “I won’t deny that I used to see Brandon in Ned, but as I’ve gotten to know Ned better, it’s difficult to see him as anyone other than himself.”

“Wait.” Moira held her hand up as she processed what Catelyn said. “Did you just say that you’ve been spending time with Ned?” Her friend seemed to be unable to wrap her mind around this. “When did this happen?”

“Or more like why,” Genevieve interjected.

It would’ve been easy for Catelyn to lie and say she misspoke or claim that she was referring to hat she knew of Ned when she was with Brandon, but Catelyn went with a version of the truth. With outright lies, they took maintenance so that there wasn’t any time for inconsistences or contradictions with previous facts. She wondered how Brandon pulled off lying to her for so long. Why was honesty so difficult? Or, perhaps, Brandon told her versions of the truth.

“Yes, Ned and I spend time together,” she truthfully answered. “Although I often enjoyed Ned’s company while Brandon and I were together, we rarely conversed outside family gathering, parties, and so forth. But, a few months ago I…I was having a hard time, which Ned helped me through it. After that, I found that Ned was someone I wanted to build a friendship with, so I did.”

Now that Catelyn thought about what she said, that wasn’t a version of the truth, it was the truth, but she didn’t include the other aspect of their relationship. The stuff she didn’t include could be seen as an omission of truth, but she disagreed with that notion. She answered their questions honestly without elaborating that their relationship had changed. Furthermore, they didn’t need to know everything that was going on with her. Although they were her friends, she didn’t need to tell them all of her business, especially as one as scandalous as her having sex with her ex-fiancé’s brother.

Most times it was easier to ignore, but there were some occasions that Catelyn found it difficult to overlook the fact that Ned and Brandon were brothers. There was a part of her that felt icky at this fact and the other part that hoped she wouldn’t fracture their relationship. She thought it was selfish for her to pursue and continue her sexual relationship with Ned since she had these concerns, but he was an adult as well she justified. He could make his own decisions. Although Catelyn initiated the affair, Ned could end it (though that would upset her if he did).

“Wha…what happened? Why were you having a hard time?” Curiously, Genevieve looked at Catelyn. “Why didn’t you come to us?”

Maybe Brandon didn’t deserve her protection, but that was Catelyn’s automatic reaction. She didn’t want to tell her friends that Brandon cheated on her and not because she might feel embarrassed. She didn’t want Brandon to be hated, despite what he did to her—for years. At the same time, Brandon was a grown man and if he could cheat on her like he did, then he could deal with any hatred directed his way. Brandon wasn’t a bad person, but he was a shitty boyfriend and fiancé.

“Brandon had this friend who just didn’t seem to care for me—indifferent is a better word for it. It was like she never took our relationship seriously and I never thought too much of it. But, then there were other times where I thought she was jealous of me. Back then I brushed this off as me rationalizing it as that to explain her feelings because, if her and Brandon were such good friends, how could she feel indifferent towards a woman who was his first committed relationship—a woman he eventually became engaged to.” The redhead shook her head. “I didn’t understand, but it wasn’t a thought that consumed my mind. But, a few months ago I saw him coming out of her apartment and their interaction was very suggestive. It wasn’t like two friends hooking up after years of dating all of the wrong people…it felt like something that had been happening for years and not only with her. At that moment it hit me: Brandon cheated on me some point in our relationship, several times most likely. I was crushed and I went to see Ned because I knew he’d be honest with me; I’m glad I went.”

“Cat, why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Moira pulled her friend into a hug and Genevieve joined in and hugged them both.

“I’m fine, really,” Catelyn assured. “Well, now I am. But, it was a difficult reality to get my head around. Not only did Brandon break up with me because he couldn’t commit, but he also cheated on me during our relationship and I was none the wiser. And Ned was really a big help, just overall incredibly supportive and encouraging.”

Moira scoffed. “If he’s such a good guy, why did he tell you sooner,” the woman argued. “He watched as Brandon cheated on you and played you as a fool.”

“No,” Catelyn denied. “Ned was put in a difficult situation as he watched his brother cheat on me. Although we aren’t related, would you have told Brandon if I cheated on him?”

“Like you’d ever cheat,” Moira dismissed.

“But, what if I did?”

“But, you didn’t, which is why the question is ridiculous.” Moira crossed her arms.

“Moira, will you quit being so damn stubborn,” Catelyn sighed. “You and I both know that if I cheated on Brandon, no matter how far fetched it sounds, you wouldn’t say anything to him. So why are you criticizing Ned for not telling on his brother rather than recognizing that most people wouldn’t tell on their siblings? You should be happy that, eventually, Ned was honest with me and his words brought me peace.”

“You have to keep in mind, Cat, that you’ve had time to process all of this,” Genevieve explained. “We’re just processing all of this at once and don’t know what to think.”

Moira looked at her watch. “We’re going to talk so more later, but we’ve been in here far too long and have neglected the guests.”

“Oh, right,” Catelyn, agreed as she looked outside, and then at her friend. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, we’ll just say an important matter kept us away,” Moira brushed off.

As Catelyn made rounds outside to check in on the guests, she came to face to face with Ned. Involuntarily, a smile appeared on her face.

“Hey, stranger,” she greeted.

“Hey, yourself,” he returned.

Although his mouth didn’t move upon seeing her, Ned’s eyes sparkled at the sight of her. While they were together, Brandon gave an abundance of compliments; Petyr made it known that he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world; men, in general, regularly told Catelyn what how stunningly gorgeous she was. But, Ned…he looked as if he didn’t have eyes for any other woman.

It made her blush.

“Are you having fun?” The waiter approached her and she grabbed some finger food for herself and Ned.

Ned took his portion and mouthed ‘thank you.”

“Yes, thank you for asking,” he added playfully. “Did you just arrive or have I been missing you since I arrived?”

“I was inside,” she provided. “My friends and I were chatting and got carried away.” Ned nodded as a piece of food fell from his mouth and the sauce smudged his face. Catelyn fought the urge to wipe it away. She knew his skin felt as smooth as it looked—earlier she spent time rubbing his face after shaving it.

_As Ned stepped in between Catelyn’s legs, she wrapped his legs around his waist. Ned raised an eyebrow._

_“Just making sure you don’t run away.”_

_Carefully, she lathered his face and, without being asked, Ned moved his head so that Catelyn could cover the various parts of his face. With gentle hands, she titled his chin upwards, and then firmly placed the razor on his skin. Due to the fact that she had a razor in her hand and was shaving his face, Catelyn expected Ned to be nervous and fidgety. Instead, he was calm and relaxed while she removed the facial hair._

_Occasionally, she dumped the razor in the water to remove the shaved hair, and then went back to work on his face._

_Ned’s hand lightly rested on her knee as he slowly stroked her skin._

_“You’re distracting me,” she informed. “If you don’t want to have a shaving accident, you need to stop.”_

_“I trust you,” he stated, and then kissed her forehead._

_Catelyn rolled her eyes and continued as best as she could._

_Carefully, she inspected every inch of his face to make sure there weren’t any small patches of her._

_After she finished, she put some aftershave on his face and smiled at a job well done. When his face dried, Catelyn caressed his skin with both the front and back of her hand. It was just so smooth and felt great against her skin. Realizing that she had somewhere to be, she tried to hop off of the bathroom counter. Ned prevented her from leaving, as he refused to move, and pulled her into a kiss. Instinctively, she kissed him back._

_“Ned, I have to get ready,” she reminded._

_“You have a little time.” He opened her robe and slid the fabric off of her shoulders. One kiss, then two was placed below her ear, which sent a shiver up her spine. “Do you have to leave right now?” Ned focused his attention on her other ear as he softly nibbled on her lobe._

_At his ministrations, Catelyn’s hands tightened on his biceps as she felt herself become aroused._

_“Ned…”_

_“You didn’t answer my question,” he said. Without warning, Ned pulled her close to the edge of the counter as Catelyn yelped._

_“Ned, I—“ As she spoke, Ned inserted his hand into her vagina and moved his fingers in ways that he knew drove her wild. “Oh—oh Gods!”_

_Frantically, she kissed Ned as she arched her hips against his hand to increase the friction. After Ned increased the pressure, Catelyn was practically sobbing at his touch. She loosened the knot on the towel wrapped around his waist and watched it fall to the fall. Lustfully, she stared at his erect penis as he spread her legs. Before Ned could penetrate her, Catelyn grabbed his cock and began stroking him._

_“Cat,” he groaned._

_Ned involuntarily thrust into her hand as Cat opened her legs wider and scooted a litter closer to the edge of the counter._

_Excitement shot through Catelyn as she thought about how she was going to have Ned for a second time in the morning. His cock was hard, hot, and heavy in her hand as she stroked the eager flesh._

_Unable to take it any longer, Ned removed Cat’s hand and kissed her as he slid into her easily. Catelyn pulled him closer to her body as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Ned felt a little…different tonight, but it was a good different. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but she liked what she felt as he stroked in and out of her in measured, long strokes. Tenderly, he kissed her neck before burying his head there and cranking up the intensity of his thrusts. In response, Catelyn raised her legs higher on his torso and tightly held him to steady herself._

_Ned pulled himself out of her grasp after a while as Catelyn grabbed the counter to balance her weight. Her lover placed his hands on her hips as he lifted her off on the counter and slammed into her._

_“Holy fuck, Ned,” she cried, in pleasure._

_Ned pulled mostly out until only the head of his cock was embedded in Catelyn, and then slammed into her. His change in pace was unexpected and intense and Catelyn was practically losing her bearings. Every time Catelyn tried to match Ned’s pace, he’d change it. A move that should’ve made their experience terrible only heightened her pleasure. Ned truly knew her body better than she did. There was no other way to explain it._

_Catelyn could feel the burn in her muscles as tightened her grip on the counter while Ned held her hips as he penetrated her. They’ve never done it like this before. Hell, she’s never done it like this at all._

_Just as Catelyn was becoming content with the erratic pace, Ned abruptly sat her on the counter and slid out of her._

_Wha—_

_She hadn’t cum yet._

_As Catelyn was about to voice her displeasure, Ned slid her off of the counter and turned around, and then slowly pushed her to lean over the hard surface. It was too cold for Catelyn to lie on the counter, so she held herself up on her forearms. Without hesitation, he entered her again and she moaned contentedly._

_Catelyn met Ned’s gaze in the mirror._

_This is what he wanted._

_He wanted Catelyn to watch as he fucked her._

_The reality of it all turned her on. Her gaze switched between holding Ned’s gaze and looking at his sweat covered body as he took her over the counter. Heavy pants and slapping skin filled her eardrum as felt a still hard Ned move inside of her. Catelyn had no idea if he was close or not because he’d yet to break rhythm. He didn’t look tired or on edge or heavier breathing. Ned looked and fucked her as if he had all day._

_Catelyn didn’t care if he took his time, she didn’t want it to end. Although Ned did have a lot of stamina, he current showing was unusual, but welcomed._

_Suddenly, Ned leaned against her body and hooked his right arm under her right arm, and then held unto her right shoulder. His left hand rested open-palmed on the counter next to hers as he stroked deeply into Catelyn._

_“Cum, for me, Cat,” he whispered into her ear, his breath making the fine hairs on her neck stand up. Any hope Catelyn had of holding on a while longer was lost when Ned disentangled his body from hers, and then removed her arms from under her. Ned slammed into her hard as each stroke seemed deeper than the last. She cried out Ned’s name as her climax overtook her._

_Never in life had a sexual coupling ever deeply engulfed her more than what she’d experienced at that moment. She felt the waves hit her as she tried to stay above water. Catelyn couldn’t fight it—she was overwhelmed, but only in the best way possible. No one won in a battle against the sea; they only survived and lived to tell tales. And never had an orgasm rocked her so hard that she could barely see straight._

_As Ned tried to pull out of her, Catelyn grabbed his hand._

_“No,” she said._

_“Cat, I’m tired,” he chuckled. “I need to lie down somewhere so I won’t crush you.”_

_“Then, crush me,” she offered. “I want you inside me a little be longer.”_

_Tenderly, Ned rubbed Catelyn’s back as he stood up and waited for her to regain her composure. His touch calmed her, but she wanted him closer._

_“Crush me, Ned,” she ordered. He didn’t move. “Ned…”_

_Ned did as told and covered her back with his torso. Catelyn could tell he wasn’t trying to lie on her all that much so he wouldn’t crush her. Indeed, Ned weighed a lot more than she did, but she was used to him being on top of her. Although it may not have been his complete weight, there was an acceptable amount she could put up with to have him close. There was something about having him close—feeling Ned’s skin against her own, that brought Catelyn peace…that made her feel safe and content._

_She sighed._

_Ever so slightly, Catelyn turned her head and moved to kiss Ned. He tiredly returned her kisses as he brushed her hair from in front of her eyes._

_As the remnants of Catelyn’s orgasm washed away, she seemed to recall she had somewhere to be._

_“Ned,” she said in panic._

_“What,” his voice reflected her own as he stood up. “Are you all right?”_

_As Catelyn struggled to lift herself off of the counter, Ned offered a hand. She checked her watch._

_“I’m going to be late,” she stated in a worried voice._

_“No, you aren’t,” he denied. “Jump in the shower and I’ll make sure my driver is here and ready before you are.”_

_“Ned—“_

_“Cat.” Ned grabbed her shoulders and stilled her. “I apologize for making you rush to get ready, but you’ll be there on time, I promise it.” He then placed a kiss on her forehead and went to turn on the shower. “Shower and leave the rest up to me.”_

_Catelyn shook her head that she understood and did as he told her._

_After she exited the shower, Catelyn saw that Ned picked out an outfit from her suitcase for her to wear with matching shoes and jewelry. The bra and panty set that he chose was conservative and not her sexy set that she had brought to wear for him. Catelyn was glad that Ned was thinking practical and not sexual when he chose the undergarments._

_Hurriedly, Catelyn got dressed and put on her makeup as Ned waited by the door with her purse and jacket._

_“Here,” he said. “In the car, your favorite cream bagel and a cup of coffee await you.”_

_“Even though this is your fault,” Catelyn reminded. “Thanks, Ned.”_

_She kissed him deeply, and then caressed his face before left the apartment._

Catelyn’s stomach dropped.

“Oh my gods,” she gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Ned looked concerned as he stopped chewing his food and focused all of his attention on Catelyn.

Silently, Catelyn looked at her hands, and then Ned as she formulated her thoughts. “We—we didn’t wear any protection earlier.”

Ned looked startled for a moment. “We didn’t,” he agreed. “You’re on birth control, right?”

“Yes,” Catelyn confirmed. “But, still it’s not one hundred percent.”

“I know, but have you ever missed a day or didn’t take it on time?” Ned spoke to her in a low tone, but as if everything was normal as people walked around them.

“No,” she denied. “I’ve never missed a day and I take it the same time everyday.”

“Then we should be fine,” Ned reasoned. “The pill is more effective than a condom; I know you like using both together, but I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

_We?_

_We?_

Catelyn wondered what would’ve happened if she were to accidentally get pregnant. Ned had said ‘we don’t have anything to worry about’ not you. Although kids had been the furthest things from her mind since her break up with Brandon, Catelyn had no doubt that Ned would be there for her if she were to become pregnant. She knew that she wouldn’t be on her own. Ned was a stand up guy and everyday he showed just how much of an honorable man he was.

Her thoughts went back to this morning. They had unprotected sex. Ned had quieted her fears about a potential pregnancy, but it also made Catelyn think about the benefits to her taking the pill. Well, THE benefit. A blush danced on her face as she entertained the thought of regularly having unprotected sex with Ned. He just felt so much better without the condom than he did with it on. And it wasn’t like they wore condoms to prevent STD’s.

Shortly after Catelyn and Ned started having sex, they got tested. It was really Catelyn who pushed for it because of the various women Brandon had been with. She had meant to go after finding out he had cheated on her, but was scared and never did it. Then after her and Ned became involved, she toughened up and asked Ned to be tested with her. Although neither of them had unprotected sex with either Brandon or Ashara, sometimes STD’s had a way of getting around the condom…such as herpes. Ned doubted that Ashara cheated, but got tested because it was the smart thing to do and to support Catelyn.

There was no way that either of them contracted anything after that because they’d been sexually exclusive with each other. So, the only reason they continued to wear condoms was to prevent from having kids. But, as Ned said, Catelyn was on the pill, which was to prevent pregnancy and more effective than condoms.

By this point, Catelyn knew that she had convinced herself and now all she had to do was sway Ned. If she liked what she felt earlier, she knew Ned had to. There was no way it felt the same as before or worse for him than what she’d experienced.


End file.
